Not applicable.
Not applicable.
This invention relates to a child""s toy. More particularly, this invention relates to a toy comprising a base painted or printed to resemble a view of grass, streets, rivers, lakes, and/or the like. The toy further comprises one or more three-dimensional objects resembling a house, farm building, business, school, church, tree, and/or the like, which can be place in selected locations on the base. The base and three-dimensional objects are made of a flexible materials such that they can be easily folded into a flat configuration for storage and transport. Further, the toy is washable such that it can be cleaned if it becomes soiled.
J. D. Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,522 (1974), describes an educational toy device including a base having a plurality of hinged panels connected to the base at its outer edge. These hinged panels can be folded into an upright position for storage or can be folded into the plane of the base for defining a work station. Each work station has sockets for receiving items of geometrical shape.
D. W. Johnson and L. C. Vonderhaar, U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,715 (1991), discloses a toy machine for laying a simulated road surface. The toy comprises an elongate flexible strip of material having front and back surfaces. The back surface carries adhesive or tacky material for attachment of the flexible strip to a floor. The front surface has markings that simulate a highway, parking lot, or landing strip. Thus, this invention provides a temporary surface that can be placed on an indoor or outdoor floor for use by a child for playing with toy automobiles or airplanes.
C. D. Westersund, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,870 (1996), teaches a folding box dioramic toy having a rectangular base and hinged rectangular side panels. These base and panels display scenery, such as a medieval castle and outbuildings, such that a child can place and move toy archers, horse-mounted knights, and villagers. Each side panel also includes an integral triangular piece extending at a right angle to the side panel, which collectively form a closed box top when the side panels are folded into a vertical position.
S. Kaufman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,599 (1999), and S. Kaufman, U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,986 (1999), describe an interactive book having at least one page of text, graphics, or illustrations, wherein the page includes a track or monorail and a toy for moving along the track.
D. Bruner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,099 (1999), discloses a model train set including a base having two sections connected to each other to form an upper surface. This upper surface has a continuous integral track. The model train set includes at least one snap-in reversible storyboard and a plurality of visual elements. The model train set also includes a train, cars, and storage units.
W. H. Hunt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,149 (1999), teaches a toy train and book assembly. The covers and flaps of the book are opened and laid flat to form a base. Pop-up and fixed structures form a village, including a path or track passing through the village. A toy train stored in a storage compartment on the cover of the book can be removed, placed on the track, and allowed to run around the track and through the village.
While these toys are generally suitable for their limited purposes, they possess certain inherent deficiencies that detract from their overall utility as toys for children. For example, the toys of U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,522 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,870 have many hard components that can potentially be injurious to a child. By way of further example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,149 describes a toy with structures in fixed positions, which does not allow for as much creativity and imagination as may be desired concerning how the toy may be used.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that providing a soft, foldable, toy that permits compact storage, ease of transport, and a high level of creativity and imagination in playing with the toy would be a significant advancement in the art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy such that each component can be folded flat for ease of storage and transport.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a toy that is washable, thus facilitating cleaning when it becomes soiled.
It is another object of the invention to provide a soft toy that contains no hard pieces or edges, thus being safe for children of all ages.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a toy comprising components that can be arranged in a large variety of ways, thus engendering creativity and imagination in children that play with it.
These and other objects can be addressed by providing a toy comprising:
(a) a base comprising a flexible sheet; and
(b) at least one structure configured for being reversibly folded into a flattened shape and unfolded into a shape representing a member selected from the group consisting of houses, garages, businesses, farm buildings, churches, schools, transportation terminals, trees, mountains, and the like, wherein the at least one structure is optionally configured for being releasably attached to the base.
Preferably, the base is painted or printed such that one or more portions thereof resembles at least one member selected from the group consisting of grass, streets, rivers, lakes, railroad tracks, sidewalks, parking lots, and airport runways, and the like. Further, the toy preferably further comprises means for releasably attaching at least one structure to the base. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, such means for separably attaching comprises a separable fastener, such as a hook-and-loop fastener. Still further, the base is preferably comprised of a fabric, more preferably of a woven fabric, and most preferably of a canvas material or heavy cotton duck or the like.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a toy comprising:
(a) a base comprising a fabric sheet painted or printed such that one or more portions thereof resemble at least one member selected from the group consisting of grass, streets, rivers, lakes, railroad tracks, sidewalks, parking lots, airport runways, and the like;
(b) at least one structure configured for being reversibly folded into a flattened shape and unfolded into a shape representing a member selected from the group consisting of houses, garages, businesses, farm buildings, churches, schools, transportation terminals, trees, mountains, and the like, wherein the at least one structure is optionally configured for being releasably attached to the base; and
(c) at least one separable fastener comprising first and second portions thereof, wherein the first portion is disposed on the base and the second portion is disposed on the at least one structure.
Still another preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a method for using the toy described and claimed herein comprising:
(a) spreading the base on a generally flat surface;
(b) unfolding the at least one structure such that the at least one structure comprises a shape representing a member selected from the group consisting of houses, garages, businesses, farm buildings, churches, schools, transportation terminals, trees, mountains, and the like; and
(c) placing the unfolded at least one structure at a selected location on the base.
In a still further preferred embodiment of the invention, this method further comprises:
(d) attaching the unfolded at least one structure to the base.
This attaching step is preferably achieved using a separable fastener, such as a hook-and-loop fastener.